Today’s treadmill walk was in Chicago. I was born there, but we only stayed three weeks, so it didn’t make much of an impression on me. 😁
We did go back years later to visit one of Harvey’s friends, who served as the best man at our wedding, but our visit then was very brief and mainly on Washington Island.
The walk today was in the heart of the city, with lots of sidewalks, tall buildings, people, traffic. It was quite impressive.
I couldn’t find a picture of it, but there was some green space as we were entering the city where there was a round ball sculpture. It was large enough that you could go INSIDE of the globe if you wanted to. I would imagine kids would either love it or be afraid of it, and that adults might take a look inside, but not enter it.
I walked THROUGH this sculpture. I researched this and discovered it is the work of Magdalena Abakanowicz of Poland, who did this in remembrance of World War II. It is at the south end of Grant Park.
Richard Serra Sculpture – “Reading Cones” – named for Reading, Pennsylvania where it was created. (We walked through this while I was on the treadmill.)
Soldier Field – I only saw the very front of this – the stone entrance. There were a bunch of people going into the building, but we just went close to the front doors, and then turned and went in a different direction to the side.
This was an impressive walk through parts of the city, and then ending up beside a big waterway where a big ship was moored.
Courtesy: “Cupid’s Span, Claes Oldenburg” by aloharakesh is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Today I was treated to a virtual trip to the beautiful city of San Francisco via the video created for the treadmill user to watch while he or she walks.
There were all kinds of sidewalks lined with planted areas filled with flowers, shrubs and trees, plus brick walkways close to the ocean, plus humongous buildings creating a nice skyline.
The Ferry Building had a bunch of people walking toward it. We got close, then turned and walked in another direction.
One area was a grouping of obviously expensive apartment houses or condo buildings on Lombard Street with a curving, winding red brick ‘roadway’ up a hill to shops at the top. People walked down, rolled down on what I think were Segways, plus cars slowly made their way down to the road below. Attractive flower beds were dotted all around, making a beautiful statement.
I walked down several streets, all seemingly making their way down to the water below, where Alcatraz could be seen in the distance. Cable cars made their way in both directions. I saw the Fisherman’s Wharf sign, but we turned and walked in a different direction. I was glad I was walking flat on the treadmill, rather than attempting to walk up the hills shown in the video!
I’m sorry that I don’t know ‘where I was walking’ this morning on the treadmill. It was stark and beautiful, with lots of sheer rock cliffs, stone paths both next to and into the cliff themselves. There was scrub type brush over much of it and lots of red dirt. Stone fields with the towers people make balancing one rock on top of another filled one part of the video. I felt myself mentally trying to walk around the towers. 😜
I really wish the talented folks who create these videos used on exercise equipment would have a title or label or something telling you where you are. Some of the paths are becoming very familiar now. I recognize that people will come out of a cave-like area, or that a boy will be taking a walk with his dad and his dog. There is one video where a woman is walking down the sidewalk in the city and drops her beautiful red shawl. I hope the video people let her know about the shawl. MUCH too pretty to lose!
I am getting more relaxed as I walk on the treadmill now. I get a little wonky from time to time, but mostly I’m relaxed with my arms swinging comfortably by my sides, not having to correct a lot to stay on the path. I’m only a bit winded these days, sitting down for a bit on a bench at the gym to make SURE I’m not going to suffer “postural hypotension” and faint like I did once, scaring poor Brian to death. He doesn’t look at me like I’m a time bomb anymore. 😄
After I finished walking through all the cliffs and stone fields this morning, I definitely needed to drink from the bottle of water I carry!
Another great video created by the people who make videos for treadmills in gyms – showed this incredible Norwegian LPG Tanker named Clipper Sky moored in a waterway I THINK was the Neches-Sabine waterway in Port Neches, Texas mid August of this year. I don’t know if it was bringing or purchasing LPG gas, getting some work done, refueling or what, but it sure was impressive to see as I “walked” its length in the waterway on the video. It’s 205 meters long and almost 33 meters wide. It apparently is in the Northeast Atlantic now.
There was also a canopy of flowers over a wonderful pedestrian walkway for arts and crafts sales, a walk along the ocean far below in one place, a walk around the Plaza de Neches and a walk down a facility next to one of the waterways where people watched the ships and took pictures.
This was such an interesting video I ALMOST wanted to walk longer on the treadmill!
The Puente de la Mujer is a rotating footbridge for Dock 3 of the Puerto Madero commercial district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is of the cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge type and is also a swing bridge, but somewhat unusual in its asymmetrical arrangement.
One of the wonderful videos I get to watch while I walk my mile on the treadmill in the mornings is of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
There is a really impressive waterway for ships that we walk along, getting closer and closer to this amazing bridge. The whole thing swivels out of the way when a ship needs to go through!
There are paved trails and naturals trails through wooded areas, sandy beaches, mountains, and more in this video. I traveled across the Plaza de Mayo with its beautiful buildings. Buenos Aires is a stunning city, even when you’re only ‘traveling’ on hiking paths!
As I walk on the treadmill each morning, I’m in awe of the videos on the treadmill screen. Someone I guess has a business of traveling to different locations and filming paths one can walk in each location. They do it with great expertise. You feel as if you are actually there, walking on the path, turning when they turn, walking up steps, over rocks, down slopes, across bridges – even off the edge of cliffs when the camera plays with your mind, giving you a gorgeous view before changing to another path.
I’m enjoying virtual vacations as I try to improve my balance, my steadiness, and my stamina.
There is a nice video about Hawaii. I usually have to research, using my memory of what I’ve seen, to figure out the location because it isn’t given on the video. Certain places like Hawaii are easy to figure out, though I can’t tell you where each location was.
This image was taken by Tasha Marie of Unsplash. (I’m trying to give you the FLAVOR of the images on the video, since I can’t give credit to the actual image makers.)
There is a gorgeous stretch of sandy beach, where you walk along, admiring the nice waves coming in on your left. The video moves you closer to the water as you walk, getting your feet wet, then finally walking in the waves a bit. It’s glorious. The only thing missing for me is sandpipers skittering across the sand on their long, long legs, making me laugh.
Mike Sirotin Photography
There is a lava field in one part of the video similar to this one. There are white markers along a ‘path’ considered safe to hike on. The lava field covers part of a road in one area of the video. It’s awe-inspiring to see what power nature has to change the landscape of our world.
This image is similar to a section of the video where you hike through heavily wooded jungle-type areas with sometimes very narrow paths. You can almost hear the call of birds as you walk.
Photo by 1234Kidswilltravel
Waterfalls large and small spill into creeks rushing beside your path as you walk, or off in the distance a bit, making you goggle at the majesty of nature.
I hope I’ve given you an idea of the expertise of the people who create and sell videos to gyms – and I guess they are available if you purchase your own treadmill to use at home.
They provide a distraction from the fact you’re exercising, if you’re a lazy person like me; they provide focus so that I can let go of the handlebars and concentrate on changing my balance as needed to stay on the paths; they show you places in the world you probably won’t ever get the chance to actual visit – led by someone who won’t let you get lost!
You already know I’m weird; but, as Elizabeth Barrett Browning said, “Let me count the ways….”
I’ve been trying to re-train my brain and body on the treadmill in an effort to improve my sense of balance that was impaired when I was in the hospital in February.
I can walk without holding on to the bars now – a big difference from when I started in June (I think) walking every morning for half an hour. I’ve increased my speed and I’m starting to tweak the incline %. The reason I say I’m weird is that I feel like I’m playing Mind Games.
Someone has gone to a great deal of trouble, time, and expense to provide videos on the treadmill screen you watch I guess to make the time pass more quickly or distract you from the fact you’re exercising. The videos are beautiful, shot in all different locations, made so you feel as if they are walking right there with you.
I’m probably more prone to react to the videos than others. I’m trying to figure out where the video was shot, trying to absorb the glorious views they provide, and more. They are leading me down various paths – some on city sidewalks, some deep in the woods, some on the beach…
Since I am walking without holding on to the bars, my brain reacts each time the location changes, or the path winds and turns, goes up stairways or hills. I find myself trying to mentally and physically avoid the rocks in the paths so I won’t fall on my head. I’m trying not to lose my balance as we go through a squeakily narrow place or are plunged into the darkness, or twist and turn. My brain and body react when the camera approaches a place where there is clearly no place to go, and THEN THEY KEEP GOING OFF THE EDGE WITH THE CAMERA!
The really good thing is I never get bored, even when the video is a repeat of one I’ve done before. I’m improving on looking ahead, rather than down at the path all the time, taking in what is BESIDE the path now. I’m learning not to panic when the camera angle changes, straightening out the path in my mind rather than grabbing the bar in knee-jerk fashion.
You would THINK I would be intelligent enough to remember that I am in a gym, walking on a treadmill, NOT in a forest, or walking off a cliff – but INSIDE this weird brain, I’m experiencing the places they’re taking me, holding my breath as I negotiate yet another several sets of steps built into the path, step over debris, around people, make another abrupt turn in the path that runs over a creek…
So, I admit I’m weird. And I’ll try to use that to my ADVANTAGE as I try to regain my stamina and my balance.
Last night I added more exercises with bottles of water as weights. I did enough that I had some sore muscles, so that was good.
Today after looking at a couple of videos (thank you, Sheila) of a lady dancing, I looked up music videos labeled, “dance music,” to encourage me to bop around the room with my headphones on. I lasted three songs on the first video before pooping out, and I had a good time, a smile on my face as the years fell away in my mind.
Pinterest – Free Clipart
Just a minute ago, I was truly ‘amazing’ though, as I sprinted toward my balcony to rescue my laundry drying on the rack when it started to pour suddenly. And I mean POUR!!!!! Not just a turning-the-faucet-on rain, but someone using spray attachments!
I had forgotten how quickly this old lady can move, if needed. I managed to get the dry stuff off the rack and onto a chair, and then proceeded to open the balcony folding door fully so I could move the rack of still damp clothes inside. I managed to do that without injury or dumping the clothes and then got the door shut without pinching fingers or causing any other problems.
True to Thailand, while I’m still breathing a bit heavily from all the exertion, the rain has quieted to a calm rain, instead of all the slashing, blowing rain. Thankfully, this rain was slanted differently, so my windows didn’t leak. 😁
Bored Panda
Now that I’m up and my heart is ‘awake’ and functioning, I think I’ll do my session of yoga stretches for the day…
Since I’m not EVER going to be an ‘exercise afficionado,’ – particularly since it’s a bit late to start at 78 – I’m trying to make the exercise I AM doing do the most for me.
I read an article recently (actually, my friend Marsha pointed it out to me) that the Japanese had done a study that showed that, instead of just getting on the treadmill, setting the speed, and walking for 30 minutes (1 mile) as I have been doing for about a month and a half now, it’s more effective if you start with a warm-up of a couple of minutes, then increase your speed as if you were going to miss a bus, be late for work, etc. for a few minutes, and then go back to slow, repeating over and over for the same 30 minute session.
I don’t really know if it’s really doing me much more good than what I was mindlessly slogging through before, but it keeps my interest and makes me FEEL like I’m doing myself more good.
I’ve been doing what I call, “Old lady yoga stretches” for quite a while now, hoping to keep myself as flexible as possible, improve my balance, loosen stiff muscles, etc. The problem is that I’ve been planning to do my session in the evening after dinner.
I’ve finally recognized a tendency to either shorten my session or just put it off altogether due to my innate laziness. SO – now I’ve changed to doing my session in the afternoon, when I’m still relatively fresh, not sleepy, and more likely to do a full length session, slowly, with intention. (Like as soon as I finish writing this post!)
Last, my doctor here in Thailand recommended three exercises for me to do to strengthen my back when I told her about my ‘mystery debilitating back spasms’ from which I suffered for about a week.
I don’t have weights, but I DO have 1 liter bottles of water. I’m doing two of the exercises using one of the bottles. I’ll increase that to two when this gets easier.
The first exercise is to stand holding the bottle close to your body with both hands in front of you. You twist as far as you can to the left, then back to the front, then twist as far as you can to the right and back again. I’m doing 20 reps.
The second exercise starts with you standing holding the bottle in front of you legs spread for balance. You reach as far as you can up and to the left, hold, then bring it back. Then reach as far as you can up and to the right, hold, then bring it back. I’m doing 20 reps of this one, too.
The third exercise is really a challenge for me. I’m combining it with my yoga stretches. I’m flat on my stomach on my mat, arms in front of me on the floor in a ‘V’ shape. Then I’m supposed to lift up my arms and my head and as much of me as possible from the waist up off the floor and hold.
Yeah, right.
I’m doing the best I can, but I’m barely able to lift anything from my waist up off the floor now. I’m looking at this as the same theory as the lady who created the yoga video for seniors. She said that it doesn’t matter if you can’t touch your toes. If you are TRYING to touch your toes, bend over as far as you can and breathe into it, you are doing the same good for your body as if you DID touch your toes. Your body is stretching toward your goal and will give a bit more each day. I’m HOPING that – if I keep lifting up as much as I can each day – gradually I’ll do better and better. The lifting and stretching will hopefully strengthen my back a bit at a time.
I’m back in my condo after eating breakfast with Brian. We combined salad, sliced avocado, bacon, and scrambled eggs in big bowls, plus drinking a mug of hot mushroom tea. Today was Day 1 of an effort for me to continue losing my lard plus regaining strength from my sudden health issues, plus wanting to be the healthiest me I can be.
We walked to the gym, rinsing off the bottom of our shoes in a tray of water and wiping them on the carpet put there for that purpose. We put our membership card up to a reader as the door unlocked and the lights came on. The owner/manager waved at us. We were alone, otherwise, and I liked that just fine 😊
Brian showed me all about the treadmill and I was off and walking. I gradually increased the pace to 3.5, which seems to push me a bit, but is a good one for me. The machine showed a path I was supposed to be walking on, but it seemed to be going faster than I actually was. I had been watching Brian, right next to me. He did a good warm up, then gradually increased his speed to where he wanted to be. Then he did a minute or so cool down.
He was worried that I might be dizzy. That was only true for a minute or so on the walk home. I asked him if it would be rude to sit on the back of an elephant statue. He said, “No,” just as I plopped down on one’s back while the other two probably sneered as they watched me.
Brian cut his run a bit short this morning out of concern I might poop out. I did 31 minutes at a speed of 3.5 km/hour. Day before yesterday I did 3452 steps. This morning I have 4963 so far. Pretty good starting point for an old broad!
I will do some yoga stretches now before we leave to go to the hospital, and will do another set after the movers take the furniture away.
Brian and I just got back from “Walkin’ to New Orleans” to get to a nice looking gym, where he has been running first thing in the morning for the past 4 days, I think.
We have a one month membership for me now. I will start Monday morning. They open at 6 a. m. , so we will start walking from here at 5:50. He says it’s a 5 minute walk for him and it took us 10 minutes to get there this afternoon. Actually, the walking over there and walking back will make me proud of this old lady.😛
He runs for 25 minutes. I will try to walk on the treadmill for the same 25 minutes he is running. Then I am planning to do a slow easy yoga stretching session in the afternoons. We will see how it goes. 🙂
The quote is by Helen Hayes. I’m trying to live by her words.
Patty Durfee-Pinterest
I’ve been doing my exercise regimen for a reasonably long time now. At the end of the month, I’ll measure to see if I’ve made any progress in the ‘losing-my-lard’ project.
Newport Daily News
I AM feeling looser and stronger than I did. When I’m writing my blog posts to you each morning, I stop after each one to do a series of exercises with 3-pound weights. I write another post, and do another series until I’ve finished the 4 posts I write every day. This results in a reasonable number of repetitions on trying to strengthen my arms.
I then do chair exercises that are supposed to be targeting my abdomen or core. There are four exercises. When I do two of them, I can really feel it. The other two involve my arms, and I’m not strong enough yet to do them, but I hope to work up to them.
Pinterest
The only other exercise I do daily is my yoga stretches in the afternoon. I do a half hour to 45 minutes, doing a series of big stretches. I don’t do a lot of ‘poses,’ like people who really do yoga well do. I just do stretches on my mat, breathing into the stretches and concentrating on relaxing.
sent to me by my friend, Marsha.
I’ll be reporting to you at the end of the month. Keep moving!
I’ve told you that I’m trying to lose the lard and get as healthy as possible as I age.
On the eating front, I’m fasting from dinner the night before until lunch the following day, eating a low-carb diet using MyFitnessPal.com to log what I’m eating and drinking each day. My scales, though, better, are still laughing at me and GRUDGINGLY giving me good news from time to time.
On the exercise front, I do exercises with 3-pound weights in-between writing blog posts, several repetitions of many different moves before writing another post, then doing some chair exercises that are supposed to strengthen my abdomen (core.) In the afternoon, I’m doing half an hour to 45 minutes of yoga stretches. I’m consciously trying to move more, taking on projects like standing on my head (figuratively) in my closet upstairs, cleaning it out, trying on clothes, and bagging up stuff to donate to the Veterans Thrift Store in Fort Smith the next time we go. I’m trying to choose things – or they choose me – that involve a lot of pulling and hauling, going up and down stairs, in and out to the garage, or something similar. I measure at the end of every month to see if I’ve made any progress.
In cleaning out my closet, I’ve found another standard of measurement in my efforts – jeans.
When I started trying to lose the lard, and until I started going through my closet this past week, I was delighted to discover that I could do away with my fattest jeans. (The ones that had elastic at the waist, rather than a zipper.) As I tried on more things, I discovered that the next jeans size down was ALSO too big! HOOORAAAAAY! I’m now wearing jeans that are 3 sizes down from my worst. Now THAT is motivation to try to keep my mouth shut and continue my efforts. They AREN’T in vain. I AM making progress!
There is one jean and shorts size smaller than I now have stacked on the top shelf in my closet. It will probably be some time before I can wear those, but again, they are motivation. Fingers crossed.
I will weigh and measure at the end of the month, as usual, and report to you as I have promised, but I was grinning as I showed my husband. :0)
“Don’t let aging get you down. It’s too hard to get back up.” – John Wagner
My husband actually laughs when he is sitting in his recliner watching me do my old lady yoga stretches. I DO sound like Rice Krispies – ‘Snap, crackle, and pop!” as I move. I feel better afterward, though – looser and more flexible.
“You know you’re getting old when everything hurts, and what doesn’t hurt doesn’t work.
I have a DVD by Cat Kabira, who designed some stretches especially for seniors (how I HATE that term!). She emphasizes that if you stretch as much as you are able in whatever pose, and then breathe into it, you’re doing as much good for your body as if you had actually touched the floor, or folded yourself into the paper airplane. I’m taking her at her word, moving slowly (except when my cat bites my foot), b-r-e-a-t-h-i-n-g into the position…
“I’m at that age where my mind still thinks I’m 29; my humor suggests I’m 12 while my body mostly keeps asking if I’m sure I’m not dead yet.”
If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I whine from time to time that my efforts to lose the lard and get stronger are frustrated.
I’m into a routine now.
I’m eating low carb and monitoring what I’m eating and drinking on MyFitnessPal.com. This is a wonderful site with a free part that allows you to (1) set your goals (2) plan what you’re going to eat and drink ahead of time BEFORE you mess up, and (3) chart your progress with exercising, measurements and weight logs.
Womens Health
In-between posts on the blog to you, I’m doing short sessions of exercises with 3-pound weights, several reps of lots of different moves – some to the beat of music videos of ladies doing ‘drumming exercises’- and then I go back and write another post. This takes the ‘curse’ off of things for me. I have the weights on my computer counter right next to me, so it’s easy to stop, do a session, and then get back to what I was doing. I end up doing 4 to 5 sessions daily.
The Indian Express
I try to get in a session of “old-lady-yoga-stretches” – 30 to 45 minutes – every afternoon. I do NOT fold myself up into a paper airplane shape and sail across the room. I’m concentrating on relaxing, stretching my poor, aching body as far as I can into each position and breathing into it. I’m making progress because I’m stretching farther and able to relax into it better than I could when I started. I’m getting more flexible, looser, and my balance is improving. I can relax – unless Monster Cat decides to jump onto my feet and bite them.
Getty Images – Health
If the weather permits, I try to take at least a couple of walks around our yard daily. At one point, I decided I would walk down and get our mail every day. Doesn’t sound like much, does it.
Well, we live on top of a ridge line in Arkansas. Our driveway is 650+ feet from the house down to the road that runs in front of our property. It is graveled and STEEP. I tried to do this, but almost fell on my head several times trying to walk down, and then, even stopping several times to bend over and try to catch my breath, it felt like Mt. Everest to this old lady. Once was enough.
Now I walk out to our shop, around it, past our old veggie garden area, back to the house, around it, and do the round again. If the weather is nice, I put my gardening gloves on and carry my pruning shears so I can stop and cut something down while I’m out. (The woods are continually trying to recapture the land we took when we built our home 37 years ago now.)
Deviant Art
Finally, just for giggles, my husband helped me get our old Wii Fit to work again after several years. I stopped using it years ago due to my general laziness and it’s predilection for snark when I got on to measure my weight and when I tried to do the activities. I’m ignoring that and talking back to it now. :0)
I whine because even with watching what I eat like a hawk and pushing myself to move the lard daily, I’m having trouble meeting my current interim goal. I just bobble with 2 to 3 pounds over and over rather than actually meeting my goal and being able to set a new one. It’s aggravating, to say the least.
I guess it’s also character-building, because I AM sticking to my eating and exercise plan and I WILL – EVENTUALLY – reach this interim goal of 45 pounds off from my heaviest. Right now the result is 44 pounds down and almost 44 inches less. I. AM. DETERMINED.
When you’re trying to build a habit, change your lifestyle, I think it’s really important to splurge every once in a while. Others will call it ‘cheating,’ or think you ought to feel guilty. I disagree. I think it’s not only understandable, I think it is necessary.
Mindset – you’ve done your research, your mind is filled with ‘shoulds’ and you’re trying your best to stay the course. Then, life gets in the way, you’re offered a chance to do something that day that causes you to detour from what you’re trying to build into a routine. You feel guilty. You’ve failed.
I’m saying that you should BUILD IN detours. You should take the detour as a chance to REALIZE that you’re making a choice, that’s it’s OKAY not to follow your perfect plans every day. That you actually NEED to see that you can detour and then go back to the routine the next meal, the next day – the NEXT. It doesn’t have to kill you. It doesn’t have to derail your efforts. You splurge – you enjoy every minute of it – and then you go back to the lifestyle you’ve carefully chosen.
It’s what you do 99% of the time that counts. Your mindset is strong. You’re changing your LIFESTYLE. You’re stronger because of the detours because you CHOOSE to resume the good habits you’re building.
Detour – example – yesterday I was really happy to find some KETO bread at the store. This enabled my husband and I to have hot dogs for dinner last night. I didn’t have to eat what amounts to a ‘wrap,’ using a 0-net-carb tortilla as my bun. I actually got to use a hot dog bun! First time in a year! Whoopee! It was wonderful. I enjoyed every bite, loading mine with mustard and onion.
Instead of just throwing my hands in the air and hoping I was finally going to meet my interim weight loss goal this morning, we splurged, eating some no-added-sugar vanilla ice cream and some fresh blueberries. I KNEW it was a no-no. I didn’t realize until AFTER I had eaten it that the dish of ice cream used up ALL of my carb limit for the day and then some – not counting what I ate the rest of the day. The whole day was blown.
In the past, I would have then gotten out some potato chips or something, thinking, the day is blown, I might as well enjoy it, wallowing in guilt as I stuffed my face. This time I enjoyed every bite, REALIZING I was splurging, and redoubling my mindset that I wouldn’t feel guilty, and that my new LIFESTYLE would resume without pause in the morning.
Splurging – cheating – falling off the wagon – whatever you want to call it is an important part of building a new habit or lifestyle. You are only accountable to yourself. You choose to renew your commitment, now even stronger because you allowed yourself to be a real person, and your lifestyle change becomes a bigger and bigger part of you.
For ME the changes are losing the lard and getting stronger with more regular exercise. I don’t have to be perfect. I CAN splurge from time to time. It’s wonderful to know that. It increases my motivation to try to do good things for myself.
We’re due for a perfect fall day here in Arkansas. It’s 49 right now, the high is supposed to be 69 this afternoon, and the sun is smiling. Just beautiful!
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LEWIS MAILBOX DECORATIONS –
When we were going to drive our trash down yesterday, I suggested we change the mailbox decoration. I also had my gloves and hand pruners in the truck so I could cut down some baby mimosa ‘trees’ and some other tall weeds at the bottom of the driveway to neaten up a bit.
I’m trying to convince my husband that we should create a different method for storing the mailbox decorations in the shop. Right now each is on a hook suspended from a bar that runs overhead. This has worked well for years, but now it’s much harder for my husband to stand on a ladder and get the decorations down and back up again. So far, he won’t consider any changes, so I’m now trying to choose decorations that are smaller and lighter to make things easier for him.
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Integrated Children’s Therapy
I’m frustrated because the days are whizzing past my head and I struggle to get in HALF of what I would like to do. Either the time is too short, we have other priorities, or my energy poops out at the wrong time.
I’m trying to find a balance between chores, exercising, and doing something fun each day. That rarely happens, but it IS an ongoing goal. So far, doing exercises with my 3-pound weights between things I’m doing on the computer is working out well. I do several sessions each morning in between blog posts, email, research, etc. My afternoon yoga session gets lost in the shuffle a lot, so I’m trying to get into the habit of doing that after lunch and a rest. Hit and miss so far.
I’m enjoying making some new things for us to eat. My husband isn’t picky – saying I always cook good things – unless I try to serve him many veggies we should be eating. Then we get into problems. We’re compromising in a lot of areas. Last night we had shrimp chef salad that was good. Tonight I’m trying a new recipe for a ground beef casserole that is low carb. I’m substituting broccoli for the green beans called for. Hopefully, this recipe will be a keeper. If it is, I’ll give you a link to it. :0)
No big plans for the day, unless another tree has fallen on us. Enjoy yours.
I sound like the older-than-dirt Rice Krispies commercial when I exercise. I’m drowning that out with earphones plugged into my computer where I listen to “Ladies Drumming” exercise videos where they use drumsticks to beat on exercise balls on platforms just below chest level to some fun music. Instead of their equipment, I’m holding 3-pound dumbbells and doing exercise moves I’ve learned elsewhere, keeping up with the beat. It makes the movement ALMOST fun. I just finished doing two of the videos before I was feeling it in my neck and shoulders.
I did quite a bit of walking (for me) when my husband and I went to do errands this morning. I’ll walk more before dinner.
Now I’ll go do a session of old-lady stretching yoga that will nicely fill out my exercise for the day.
I’ve tweaked my eating by adding the protein shake my doctor recommended daily, plus eating Zero Net-Carb Mission Tortillas, one for lunch and another for dinner, adding 14 grams of fiber daily. I’m drinking more water in-between.
I’m almost to another milestone for me – one of my interim goal marks, and I hope to be able to claim that by the end of this week.
I splurged, though, today, because my husband wanted to stop at our local grocery so he could get a chicken/mashed-potato-bowl for lunch. I caved and got two chicken tenders. I ate one with lunch today and will have the other tomorrow. This allows me to realize that this is a lifestyle change for the rest of my life, not just a ‘diet’ that will end at some point, and that small splurges from time to time add motivation while keeping me from feeling deprived.
We enjoyed delicious BBQ ribs from Stu’s Clean Cookin’ last night. I divided the rack we bought into two pieces. I put one in the fridge to eat last night and the other piece in the freezer for another time. When it was cooked, I divided it again so we both enjoyed 4 ribs with a side salad. My husband had a roll and I had a tortilla. Tonight we’re eating some leftover “Simply Keto Chicken” by Suzanne Ryan.
If you need a laugh, you can picture me on the floor, snap, crackling and popping my way through my yoga stretches while Monster Cat either tries to bite my toes, sit on my stomach, or walk under me as I stretch up on my hands and knees…
Yes, I’m definitely in celebration mode this morning, “tooting my own horn”, dancing around the room, grinning from ear to ear, dancing with the animals, dancing with my husband (who was very encouraging). I FINALLY REACHED THE 40-POUNDS OFF INTERIM GOAL!!!!!
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WOO HOOOOOO! I’ve been trying to get to this goal for so long that I actually weighed myself several times before I really believed it. :0)
I hauled out my really old NutriSystem weight loss bears so that I could document the GREEN 40-pounds-off bear. (He has “40” embroidered on his chest.) I’ve lost track of how long ago it was that I earned him. The minute I quit eating the prepared NutriSystem meals, though, I began gaining it back. It just wasn’t sustainable for me.
Now I’m eating low carb, plus trying to cut down on salt, plus trying to drink more water, plus trying to exercise on a daily basis. This is something I can stick with and control, tweaking when necessary, reassessing goals as I go.
I’m a little past halfway now, I think to my ultimate goal- again assessing as I go. The overall plan now is to lose another 30 pounds or so and improving my blood work. I have now set my next 5-pound interim goal.
I will set my sights on the next NutriSystem Bear (50-pounds-off) when I reach the next goal.
At this, the last day of September, I’m 2/10ths of a pound away from my interim weight loss goal of 40-pounds-off.
This is a report from MyFitnessPal.com showing the last year of my ‘lose-the-lard’ efforts. Although I’m only about halfway to my ultimate goal at this point, the trend is encouraging.
My husband and I had a talk this morning, since he has Type 2 Diabetes (though he won’t admit that and says he just has a ‘sugar problem.’) We BOTH are having to accept that our bodies don’t respond to our efforts as they used to. It takes being more serious with more consistent effort to actually realize improvement.
He says he’s being ‘good,’ but looked kind of appalled when I calmly reminded him of what I noticed he ate that was not on his diet recently. I told him I wasn’t the food police and that he was responsible – as am I – for what we put in our mouths. We BOTH need to keep tweaking to make the changes happen.
What seems to be working for me right now – with the occasional plateau – is monitored by my daily use of MyFitnessPal.com. I put in my information on KetoKarma.com (Suzanne Ryan’s website) and came up with this as my daily eating goal –
My experience after doing this about a year is that I need to stay under 1000 calories, where fitness pal says, “You might not be eating enough.” I eat as few carbs as possible, staying as close to 13 or 14 as I can, and try not to eat too much protein – that may throw off my progress. I’m trying to drink more water, alternating between that and coffee until my eyeballs are floating. I’m not snacking – at all. I’m taking Fruits & Veggies vitamin supplements daily to make sure I’m getting all the nutrients I need, as well as taking Calcium for my bones. I’m hoping that eventually, when I meet my ultimate goal, I might be able to stop taking most of the prescription drugs I’m taking now. We’re monitoring blood tests at the times my doc deems appropriate. I’m trying to exercise daily – videos with weights and my half hour yoga stretching.
SO – as of today, September 30th, there are 39.8 pounds less of me than when I was at my heaviest. There are 41.2 inches less of me now.
“Keepin’ on keepin’ on. “ I’ll report again at the end of October.
I don’t want to live to any particular age, but I would like to be as healthy as possible for as long as I can. I can’t control all of that, but I CAN control –
What I weigh
What I eat
How much exercise I get
As you know, I’ve been trying to lose the lard and move more. I’m about halfway to my goal now.
Eat Smart Move More NC
I started with a BMI of 34, which is labeled on the chart as “Obese.” Right now I have a BMI of 29, labeled as “Overweight.” I’m celebrating JUST being ‘overweight’ now. My goal is a BMI of 24, which is labeled “healthy weight.”
I’m eating a low-carb diet, trying to drink more water, and using MyFitnessPal daily to pay close attention to what I’m eating and drinking.
My moving more efforts include working in the yard, practicing ‘old lady’ yoga stretches, and various YouTube workout videos. I’m doing one now from Good Morning Fitness with stomach exercises done standing that don’t involve jumping. I also like a whole series with Mike from Australia. He has a website called More Life Health Seniors. I’m also trying to make myself at least walk around the house and out to the shop once a day.
I’ve started taking SuperFoodMD Fruits & Veggies supplements, a competitor to the much-advertised brand you see on TV. That one is too expensive for me, but this one costs less than half as much. (I put the two products side by side and they look like the same thing.) I eat basically the same thing for lunch every day, and we eat a somewhat limited number of low-carb dishes for dinners, mainly because my husband will only eat a handful of veggies. I hope that these supplements will help me make sure I’m getting what I need for good health.
Re-losing the poundage I gained because of caving when my husband insisted we stop at Sonic so he could get a large banana milkshake. “Somehow” a medium chocolate shake appeared in my hand while we were there. This was followed that day by some potato chips from my husband’s stash with our dinner….
I’m ALMOST back now to my 33 pounds down level. I’m hoping to be there tomorrow, and then I can zero in on getting to my current interim goal of 35 down.
The key to all this, of course, is keeping my eyes open and my mouth shut. I am now using MyFitnessPal.com to ENSURE that when I plan my eating for the day, the result, including any snacks will be the website concluding, “You’re not eating enough.” When you’re old and you don’t live for exercise, this seems to be the key in seeing a difference on the scales.
I’ve also decided to concentrate on my yoga each afternoon plus a video or two daily using weights from my More Life Health Seniors guy, Mike with the wonderful Australian accent.
Reddit – r/midjourney
“Eyes open – mouth shut – body moving” SING IT! :0)
After lots of messing around – another virtual roller coaster ride – I am again at the ‘down-32-pounds-since-my-heaviest’ place. I’m ready to break new ground.
I just recalculated my macros with the help of Suzanne Ryan – Simply Keto – KetoKarma.com and then transferred that information to MyFitnessPal.com to track my food, drink, and exercise. I really like the fact that I can add things easily ( and many times someone else has added it before me) so I don’t have to list each ingredient.
I also really like it that I can enter what my eating plan is for the day and then adjust it if my carbs are too high, or if changing an amount will bring me into my goal range BEFORE I’ve already eaten it. Since I’m also trying to cut way down on salt, I can watch that, as well here.
I HAVE discovered that, because I’m old and weird, if MyFitnessPal decides “you probably aren’t eating enough,” the result will be a small, gradual loss on the scales, so that’s what I strive for.
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I really try to do my yoga practice (old lady stretches) daily. It’s only 30 minutes, and I DO feel looser, a bit more relaxed, and more flexible when I’m conscientious about doing it, and FEEL it when I don’t.
It’s all my husband’s fault for being so nice last week. He asked me out to lunch on Friday. I was good, eating only part of my carefully chosen lunch and bringing home the rest. But then it was as if the dam broke.
Pinterest
Shorter story – I gained 3 pounds over the next several days. :0( Now I’ve finally stopped the binge and am back to following my low carb plan and doing yoga – and yard work if Mother Nature isn’t being cruel – each day. I hope to be back to where I was very soon, and then will tackle the next 5 lbs.
I don’t know if my husband was just trying to encourage me to lose more lard, just being nice, or what, but he said last night that he ‘thought I was losing weight.’ He’s never been particularly quick to notice things (and, in some cases, that’s good) but it would SEEM that 30 pounds less of me would be a little more noticeable… But – he sees me daily, so I guess we both probably miss ‘details.’
It is with great relief that I FINALLY met another mini-goal on my weight loss efforts. Today I am 30 pounds down from my heaviest. (Is it weird that 30 pounds off sounds like SO much more than the 29.6 pounds yesterday?) Round numbers can be so satisfying. :0)
My new goal is now 35 pounds off. My current practice of setting 5 pound goals makes it seem that I might actually be able to accomplish it. AND I can give myself pats on the head when I reach them, knowing I’m inching closer to where I would like to be eventually.
I will also get out the NutriSystem bear I earned years ago that says ’40’ – using that as a strengthening of my efforts. I’m getting used to the new eating plan, day by day. I’m using MyFitnessPal.com to track what I’m eating to stay under 1,000 calories a day, under 20 carbs per day, cutting my salt as much as possible every day, resulting in the note to me from the website, “you’re probably not eating enough.” I’m losing a bit at a steady rate this way. If I’m feeling consciously hungry, I make a snack.
Four Paws
I’m TRYING to do my session of old lady yoga stretches daily, and I’m also trying to add some online short exercise videos.
I like Mike Kutcher from MoreLifeHealth.com. He specializes in working with ‘seniors.’ Though I hate that term, I like Mike.
I’m beginning to feel a bit more confident about my ability to lose some of my lard. This is a BIG thing because I’ve tried lots of different things to no avail. I’m following a low carb eating plan now, cutting WAAAAAY down on salt, as well, plus am trying to move more.
To date, I’ve lost 29.6 pounds and 28 inches since my heaviest.
I’m using MyFitnessPal.com to log what I’m planning to eat and drink each day so that I can make adjustments BEFORE it’s too late. I’m making substitutions, finding alternatives for things I miss the most, like bread. I’ve found Zero Net Carb Mission Tortillas. (Each has 7 carbs, but also 7 grams of fiber, which, since fiber can’t be digested, offsets the carbs, resulting in zero net carbs.) I was used to eating one dinner roll with dinner, we ate sandwiches for lunch, etc. Now I can use these, instead, and not feel guilty. I fixed grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches last night, for example, using bread for my husband and tortillas for me. :0)
I have found that if my total on MyFitnessPal says, “It’s likely you’re not eating enough,” I tend to lose a bit of weight. For me, this works, so I plan to continue. I’m eating so that I’m not hungry. If I am, I eat a snack, so I’m not feeling deprived. I have tried to lose the lard for many years now, so this slow, steady loss is really gratifying.
I am currently doing three things to move the lard in an effort to keep all my parts moving in as pain-free a manner as possible for as long as possible.
THING ONE– Senior Online Exercise Videos by Mike from More Life Health Seniors – There are a whole series of these. If you’re interested, click on the link above to scroll through the offerings. I’m trying to do at least two different ones daily.
THING TWO – a 30 – 40 minute session of old lady stretching yoga daily. I have made my own series of stretches and positions now, but I started with a “Gentle Yoga ” DVD I purchased through Sixty and Me by Kat Kabira. She got me over my intimidation of the whole yoga idea, stressing that stretching toward, and breathing into, stretches and poses was as good for beginners as ACTUALLY being able to bend over and touch your toes, for example. I do a lot of “stretching toward” and “breathing into”, and I can tell you that I really feel the difference if I don’t take the time to do my practice.
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THING THREE – And finally, I try to get outside daily (if Mother Nature is feeling cooperative) to get some fresh air, walk around, and do something good in the yard. It may be half an hour harvesting veggies, weeding flower beds, weed whacking, spraying bug spray or weed control spray, etc.
The combination of these three things plus watching my carbs and sodium is all working together in my efforts to lose the lard. MyFitnessPal.com is a free website where I can list my exercise, my weight and measurements, and the foods I eat daily to make sure I’m staying on track. I believe I have finally found a good, healthy combination to accomplish my goal of staying as healthy as possible as the years pile on. :0)
My new electric meat slicer was delivered yesterday. I reorganized part of my kitchen counter so the slicer is now on an easily moveable place mat so I can slide the slicer out a bit for use, with a NON-slide place mat on top of THAT so the slicer won’t slide when I’m using it. :0) I just ordered a cover that’s made for this particular slicer, rather than the towel I’m using now. I’ll read the manual for this later today.
Here’s the cover.
I’m set up now so I can cook and slice most any meat to eat for my lunches, taking the place of the deli turkey I THOUGHT was healthy, but turned out to be sky high in sodium. (Same with salami. )
I did find some lunch meat that’s half the sodium or less than what I’m finishing up now while I’m gearing up to do all my own.
I also found some low carb, much-lower-sodium frozen dinners at Stu’s Clean Cookin’ in Greenwood. I will try all of these, but some are higher sodium than I would like for the long run. It will depend on how the food changes come together (shown clearly on MyFitnessPal.com) before I make long term decisions.
Meanwhile, my doc has increased my thyroid hormone dosage, so that should help, as well, though it will probably take several 6-week trials before we zero in on my new good dosage.
I’m finally getting my act together on eating healthier, plus I’m working in the yard most every day and doing a session of yoga stretching in the afternoons at least 3 times a week if not every day. Hopefully, the lard will start coming off in a more steady manner and my next routine blood tests in October will show significant improvement. :0)
I won’t say I have built a ‘habit’ of doing my approximately half-hour of old lady yoga stretching daily, but it HAS become a grudging ‘responsibility to myself.’ I highly resent that I don’t get a flood of endorphins, or whatever you’re supposed to get that makes you happy to be alive, raring to go, climbing Mt. Everest in the morning, and what not. I just do my stretches the best way I can, usually feeling a bit ‘looser’ than I did when I first got down on my mat, and put my sparkly star on my calendar.
Women’s Health
Yesterday I started a new thing – a few exercises to strengthen my arms with 5-pound weights. I only did 5 reps of each movement, but it’s a start and I’ll build up from here. I’ll do this M-W-F. (I put TWO stars on my calendar yesterday.)
vgajic – Getty Images – Fit and Well
Today I’ll do 10 minutes or so on my Elliptical Trainer in the garage – after cleaning off quite-a while’s-worth of dust off and finding my MP3 player. (I just FOUND it – plugged into its charger behind my computer screen, along with the earplugs that go with it. :0) ) I’ll plan to do this right after lunch, and the plan is to do this T-TH-S and increase the time as I can.
Since I’ve already been out weeding and harvesting my veggie planters this morning, the yoga and the elliptical will round out my day nicely on moving the bulk.
I’ve been logging in at MyFitnessPal.com daily for 40 days, trying to be more mindful of what I’m eating, my exercise, my water drinking, etc. I’ve been following the keto eating plan for approximately half that time.
I’ve decided to make myself accountable once a month to keep my head on straight and stay on my way to many goals. I don’t have any particular goals on weight and measurements. I need to lose my lard – a lot of it – but I’m making mini-goals in 5-pound-increments to keep it doable in my mind. I’m trying to practice my yoga daily for half an hour, adding working in the yard outside, or heavy days of cleaning inside, lately, or future plans of using my elliptical machine in the garage when I can, or adding exercises with dumbbells to add strength, all in an effort to be stronger, more flexible, with better balance, less apt to fall.
Toward these goals, I am down 23 pounds since my heaviest. I have two pounds to go to meet my latest 5-pounds-lard-off goal.
February yoga practiceMarch yoga practice
Today I measured, since I have finished a full month of daily yoga in March plus another several days starting in February. (Can you tell that the sparkly stars on my calendar are a big motivator for me?)
Measuring shows a loss of .3 inches from my hips and a loss 1.5 inches from my waist.
So, bit by bit I’m making some slow progress. (I have to tell you that last night my husband and I were so grateful that we were still alive, relatively in one piece, and relatively healthy that we ‘celebrated’ with a dish of no- sugar-added vanilla ice cream. My husband added some fruit to his and I added some chocolate syrup to mine. This will be the last celebration for the foreseeable future. :0) )
I am now promising myself (and you) that I will report progress – I hope – again at the end of April.
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